Thursday, February 21, 2008

Announcing a new skipper on S/Y TABASCO, available for charter this winter in the Caribbean and for summer 2008 they will be chartering in New England.

Captain Paul Preston has taken command of TABASCO, a custom-designed Baltic 76 pilot house cutter based in Antigua. Born in England and educated in the US, Captain Preston has a 25-year career in the yachting and hospitality industries. He has experience as captain of private and charter vessels, sail and power, up to 116 feet in length. Paul holds a USCG 1600 Gross Tons License and British DOT Certificate of Equivalent Competency with Class four Deck Command Endorsement. He has made an arrangement with a long-time colleague to freelance as chef on charter.

Tabasco offers accommodations for six in three cabins forward of the main salon. The en suite master with a centerline queen is all the way forward. Just aft of the master suite are port and starboard guest cabins with one double berth each. These cabins share a bath with a glass-enclosed shower. All cabins have access to the port side sauna which also has a shower.

Currently, Paul is finishing up an intense program of maintenance and repairs to bring Tabasco “up to snuff” :

Monday, February 18, 2008

Once again, a great review from happy guests who sailed with Gus, Marcella & Sasha aboard the catamaran Marolanga in the Virgin Islands...

Charter dates = JANUARY 26 – FEBRUARY 2, 2008Yacht = MAROLANGA

Dear Sheila and Bob,We had a fabulous time aboard the Marolanga! Gus and Marcella were wonderful hosts. The yacht was comfortable, clean. The food was very good. I don't know how Marcella was able to create such meals in a small "kitchen"....every meal was delightful, pleasing to the eye and plentiful. I was also very impressed that they served our meals on china!We would love to take another charter.We stayed in St. Thomas, Charlotte Amalia. We stayed in a bed and breakfast called "At Home in the Tropics".....and that was definitely one of the highlights of our trip! I would highly recommend this place....we stayed two days before our charter and one day after our return. The owner, Pam Eckstein, was very accommodating.You may use us as a reference.Many thanks..........we now have wonderful memories!- Caryn and John

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Flame had a close encounter whale sighting this week (Feb.2008) and wrote us a quick note about it... Hope we'll have some pictures soon.

"The whales were way cool! We were in Pillsbury Sound and saw a cow and calf. The calf was showing off and jumped multiple times. He/she really seemed to respond to our applause and cheers. Mom didn't do much until one guest said, OK we can go now, but I want one "Free Willy" move. Just then, Mom flicked her tail in the air and dove! Sadly, my pictures are awful..I was more intent on watching the show. Our guests got some good shots on their phone and promised to email them to us." - Barbara, m/y FLAME

Pillsbury Sound is the stretch of water between St. Thomas & St. John, US Virgin Islands.

February and March are the months to see the whales migrate through... If you'd like to give it a try, come on down!Check out FLAME's brochure: CLICK HERE

Friday, February 08, 2008

The 58-foot catamaran, Alidade, is currently open for the end of February, EASTER, and prime weeks in April and May 2008.

"We had a fabulous time aboard The Alidade. Eric and Allen were exceptional. The Alidade was everything we had hoped for. I would highly recommend this charter to others."- Comments from clients we had aboard Alidade, December 2007

ALIDADE’s accommodations for eight are flexible in four cabins, each with ensuite heads: Two aft cabins have king berths, one of which converts to singles, two forward cabins have queen berths.

ALIDADE's French crew, Captain Alain Guillaume (50) and Chef Eric Tournier (40) invite you to come enjoy one of the best times of the year for sailing in the Caribbean. Fresh breezes, lots of dolphins and a good chance of seeing migrating whales! Both Alain and Eric speak fluent English and Spanish, Eric also speaks German & Italian.

ALIDADE is a great “beach house” on the water, loaded with water toys:

15 foot dinghy with 40HP engine

Water skis – regular & slalom

Wakeboard

Tube

Two kayaks

Snorkel equipment (adult & child sizes)

Fishing gear

For quieter fun, relax with DVD’s, board games, books and Play Station 2.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

A recent email from the owner reports that DEMOISELLES, an 88-foot Sparkman & Stephens, is in "splendid shape" after a four-month, $650,000+ refit.

She is in the Seychelles and ready for charter. The beaches and snorkeling are fantastic in six national marine parks, two World Heritage Sites and many conservation areas among the 155 islands (mostly uninhabited) which include the largest raised coral atoll in the world.

Demoiselles will be based in Mahe with plans to make her way around the islands. Guests can easily join the boat by helicopter or water service. Flights abound from all European cities as well as Dubai and other cities in the Middle East.

Four convertible en suite guest cabins offer flexible accommodations for up 8 guests (or to 10 guests, if family). Each cabin’s double bed converts to two lower singles. Two cabins have one upper single pullman berth each.

"The captain was excellent and the chef was fantastic!”- Guest comments, March 2007, Tortola

Conundrum is a 62-foot Little Harbor sloop that accommodates up to 6 guests. They charter in the Caribbean throughout the winter

Captain Jonny Spector and Chef Meredith Hester's Christmas guests in the Grenadines had such a wonderful time that they have reserved the same dates for December 2008!

Meredith's creative menus pleased one and all, including a 'mostly vegetarian' 20 year old daughter and an 'always hungry, cheeseburger loving' 17 year old son. Here's what they wrote in the guest book:

"This has been the best sail we have had in 20 years. See you in Nantucket"

Meredith and Jonny did a 24-hour turnaround and gave their New Year's guests, a family of 5, the same high level of service and top quality vacation experience:

"Thank you for the perfect week - relaxing, laughing, wonderful food and memories!"- New Year's Charter, 2008. Mom, Dad and three kids in their 20's. St. Vincent - St. Vincent.

Conundrum accommodates up to 6 guests in three cabins, each with ensuite heads. The aft master has double and single berths plus private cockpit access. There are two guest cabins forward; one with two lower twin berths, and the other with twin bunks (upper/lower singles).

I was having an internet problem so I hit a random bookmark and went to the Merriam-Webster site. The top bit of news was the winners of "Word of the Year 2007" which was the word w00t. I know of a website called this but I've never heard anybody saying it so it was a surprise to me... but then, I'm no longer in the computer management/programmer work-a-day world.

But, the point I'm getting at is that third place was Conundrum... Hurray! A good excuse to mention the wonderful charter yacht named Conundrum with the excellent crew of Captain Jonny Spector and Chef Meredith Hester's who's Christmas guests in the Grenadines had such a wonderful time that they have reserved the same dates for December 2008!

Saturday, February 02, 2008

He saw his shadow so you know what that means... Yep, 6 more weeks of wintery weather.,

Here's a picture that I took of Marigot, St. Martin this morning... just another winter's day...

You may want to check out the official web site for Ground Hog Day and read the prediction: CLICK HERE

Remember, if you want to leave your particular winter wonderground and come on down to the islands for a quick getaway, contact us about a crewed yacht charter sailing vacation. CLICK HERE for our contact info!

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